


Ties in the heart

by digthewriter



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Family, M/M, Panic Attacks, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-06
Updated: 2014-03-06
Packaged: 2018-01-13 23:45:54
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1244785
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/digthewriter/pseuds/digthewriter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Teddy brings them together, and Draco’s guilt tears them apart.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ties in the heart

**Author's Note:**

> **Prompt:** Harry is the idiotic godfather who shows Teddy's photo with everyone in the ministry. Draco secretly wants to see those photos since he never dare to visit Teddy and his family.
> 
>  **Author's Notes:** A million thanks to for the beta. My dear Obq, I hope you enjoy the fic. You’re the reason I kept going with this fic even when it wasn’t working with me!
> 
>  **Disclaimer** : All Harry Potter characters herein are the property of J.K. Rowling and Bloomsbury/Scholastic. No copyright infringement is intended.

* * *

Draco never thought that Potter could be any more annoying. Sure he'd saved Draco's life on more than once occasion but that didn't mean he wasn't an annoying prat. Weren't all annoying prats the greatest heroes of our times?

That was certainly true of Professor Snape. He'd been in love with Potter's mum and had basically dedicated his life to "save Potter." That was rather irritating, wasn't it?

The only person Draco had looked up to had turned out to be on _team Potter_. Everyone was on bloody team Potter. Even Pansy had eventually fallen for the bloody Saviour when he'd pardoned any charges against her.

Yeah. So Potter was annoying. What was even more infuriating was how much Potter talked about Teddy Lupin. Draco's cousin. He was _actually_ Draco's family and Potter would go on and on about him like he were Potter's son.

Every week that maddening child had done something "remarkable" and Potter had pictures to share with the rest of the office. Of course, he'd never shared them with Draco. He hadn't even _asked_ Draco if he wanted to see them. Draco would have said no anyway. Probably.

Okay so he had shown them to him once, but Draco tried not to think about that embarrassing incident. After that Draco simply waited until Potter went off to lunch to sneak into his office to look at the pictures for himself anyway.

The five year old Teddy had black hair like Potter in some of the pictures, and in others he was ginger. Draco cringed at the thought. His cousin, his blood relative was won over by a ginger. Draco couldn't help but wonder if it was the Weasley girl that Potter brought around his cousin. Surely, he'd have married her by now and had their own set of ginger babies rather than coaxing Teddy into turning his hair ginger.

Merlin knew why Granger had already become a Weasley and was expecting her first offspring soon. She was supposed to be the smart one. Potter wasn't married yet. Why did the two of them run off to get married so fast?

Draco often wondered about these things on a weekly basis when he'd sneak into Potter's office and try to take a peek at all the new photos. Then he'd get lost in his thoughts and hear Potter return. He'd quickly sneak out just in time to not get caught. After that, Draco would go about his week barely giving Potter a second look.

Yeah, it was working out all fine, but Potter was still almost always annoying. Even more annoying than the Ministry regulation that required Draco to get interviewed by the Ministry psychiatrist and get his picture taken every three months.

One year after the fall of the Dark Lord, Draco had found himself a job working at the Ministry archive. It was an unglamorous and a discrete job but it helped him get out of the house and edge back into society.

Many were against hiring a former Death Eater in the Ministry so Draco had agreed to a routine evaluation, both psychological and professional, in order to maintain his job. Now, nearly four years later, it _was_ the most maddening thing in the universe.

Yet, Draco found Potter to be more exasperating than that.

\--

"Draco, are you going to bring a guest tomorrow?" Padma Patil, Assistant Director of the Department of Early Education at the Ministry of Magic, asked. Blimey, that was a long title.

"A guest? For what?"

"For _Bring A Child To Work Day_ ," she said

Draco sceptically raised an eyebrow at Patil. He had no idea what she was on about.

"Honestly, I know Harry doesn't read the memos, but you of all people—I had expected more—"

"What are you talking about?"

Patil handed a piece of parchment to Draco and stormed off. Apparently _Bring A Child To Work Day_ was something the Ministry was trying for the first time that year. The Department of Early Education wanted Ministry officials to bring their children to work to show them where their parents or guardians worked.

Draco almost panicked as the thought processed in his mind. Potter was probably going to be bringing Teddy. The only time Draco had ever seen Teddy was about a year before when he'd spotted Potter in Diagon Alley with Granger and Potter had a small child with pink hair in his arms. Draco had lurked around Potter's office enough to spot the child from ways away. Then he'd quickly placed himself under a Disillusionment Charm to avoid any awkward encounters. He'd just watched Potter interact with Teddy.

Now, Teddy was going to be in the office. Walking about in the Ministry halls. With Potter.

Draco had no idea why he was nearly falling apart, but he couldn't help himself. Suddenly, he found the hallway too small, and grew claustrophobic. He almost collapsed against the wall and took in deep breaths. It was too hot, and his heart was pounding so fast, he felt as though it was going to jump out of his chest.

"Draco, are you alright?" Patil sounded terrified as she returned to her office.

"I—I—" Draco couldn't speak, his throat was too dry and he was gasping for breath.

"Here!" Patil quickly conjured up a paper bag and handed it to Draco. "Just breathe into it; you're having an anxiety attack."

Draco trembled as he tried to breathe into the bag. Patil slowly rubbed his back in a circular motion, making a sort of soothing sound. He began to calm down as his breathing evened out and his body temperature seemed to drop. His clothes were no longer feeling tight breaking off circulation.

"Are you okay?" Patil whispered gently.

"Yes. Thank you," Draco answered, straightening up and handing the paper bag back to Patil. The bag soon crumbled into thin air. "Sorry, it happens sometimes. This—it's been a while."

"When was the last time?" Patil had led Draco into her office and helped him onto the chair.

"Nearly three years ago." Draco shivered for a brief moment. Now he was beginning to feel too cold.

"How did you subdue it?" she asked, handing him a glass of water.

"Potter—" Draco hesitated. "He'd shown me a picture of Teddy."

"Harry's godson?"

Draco nodded. "He's my cousin. I—uh—do you remember when Sydney Burbage came by—"

Patil nodded reluctantly. Everyone knew of the story. Sydney Burbage was Charity Burbage's daughter and required something from the Ministry Archives. When Draco had come across her, she'd given him a glare that sent Draco directly into a state of panic. If Potter hadn't been around, he wasn't sure what would have happened. To distract him, Potter had begun showing Draco baby pictures of Teddy and it had worked. He was also rubbing Draco's back trying to sooth him. Potter's hand on his back felt oddly comforting and the pictures of Teddy made him feel peaceful.

"Maybe you should talk to someone..." Draco scowled at Patil and stood up from the chair. "Or not," she said, almost chuckling.

"Thanks for the...help, Patil. If you can keep this incident—"

"I won't tell a soul, Draco," Patil said. "But you should look into speaking to someone. If not a professional, but maybe Harry—"

"Have a nice day," Draco said, interrupting her and with a curt nod, he was out the door of her office before she had a chance to say anything else.

"Malfoy!" Draco had barely left the floor as he heard Potter call his name. He hung his head low for a moment, bit the inside of his cheek and let out an exasperated sigh. Then he straightened himself up and scowled, turning to face Potter. "Have you got a second?"

Draco was surprised to see the look on Potter's face. Potter looked flustered and it was almost as though he was blushing with nervousness. "Yeah?" Draco asked, with uncertainty.

"Are you free...tonight?"

Draco gave Potter a once over and frowned again. What was Potter on about?

"Teddy..." Potter began and Draco's heart almost sank into his stomach. "He's been asking about you lately. And you know, tomorrow is—"

"Yeah, I know what tomorrow is," Draco snapped.

"Right." Potter cleared his throat and placed his hands in his robe pockets. "So he wanted you to know if you'd come by and see him tonight—he's really nervous about coming to the Ministry tomorrow and I'd told him that you'd be here and he got even more nervous so it might help..."

"So he wants me to come by tonight? Or you—"

"Right. Caught on that, did you?" Potter laughed, which confused Draco even more. "I thought you could surprise him and then he won't be so nervous—I think he'd like it if we both brought him..." Potter paused again.

Draco felt his stomach twist up in knots again. He hoped to Merlin that he wouldn't have another anxiety attack.

"If you don't want—"

"Who else will be there?" Draco asked.

"Oh!" Potter's face lit up blazingly. "Just Andromeda and me."

"And the Weasley...s?"

"No, Ron and Hermione are having a date night."

"Ginerva?" Draco raised an eyebrow.

"Oh..." Potter said again, this time with a bit of surprise and confusion. "She's...Erm, I think she's at her boyfriend's tonight." Potter's looked a bit rattled.

"I thought you and her—"

"We haven't been together for over four years."

Draco didn't know what to say. He had no idea.

"I'm gay," Potter added.

Draco stared at Potter wide-eyed and was sure his mouth was split open. "I had no—"

"Coming, Malfoy?" Jones, Junior Assistant to the Minister of Magic was holding the lift door open.

"Right then..." Draco said as he nodded at Potter and got inside the lift. "See you at seven o'clock then," he added before the lift doors closed and dashed off.

Draco felt as though he'd been rent asunder. He was having a very confusing sort of day. He wasn't sure how to process it all. He was used to simply going into work, functioning nearly on his own, without having anything exciting event happening around him. The only thing that _did_ happen was when he'd come across Potter discussing his godson to his co-workers and Draco getting to take a sneak look at the photos. However, that day, he'd had a panic attack, _spoken_ to Potter, been invited to go and see Teddy, and found out that Potter was gay.

He wasn't sure why the last bit of information was important, but he'd filed that in his brain on the list of bizarre activities.

\--

At precisely seven o'clock, Draco Apparated in front of his aunt Andromeda's home. She'd come by to visit his mother now and then after the war, so he had become a bit accustomed to her. Still, he was nervous. He hadn't really ever met Teddy before. What was he supposed to do? What do five year olds like? Draco wondered. He only hoped that the boy didn't end up hating him right off the bat, the way Potter had when they'd first met.

Draco straightened his robes and looked at the window on the left of the house to check his reflection. Then he knocked. He heard a faint scream in a child's voice and speculated if he'd already made Teddy afraid of him.

Potter opened the door and smiled awkwardly. He looked different. He wasn't dressed in the Ministry robes, which Draco had expected, but he looked _nice_. As though he'd tried.

"Potter," Draco said, and nodded.

"Come in!" Potter said excitedly and moved out of the way. "Teddy's very excited."

"Brilliant," Draco replied and looked around the small hallway he was standing in. Potter brushed past him, the hallway was too narrow for them to not bump into each other, yet, Potter looked flustered and apologetic. "I brought some—toys."

"Great!" Potter was still quite excited and he quickly walked towards the sitting room. "Teddy, you can come out now!" Draco had followed Potter and Potter turned to grab the gift from Draco's hands.

Teddy, dark haired and in elegant child sized robes walked into the room from around the corner. He was walking slowly as he was ready to run back into his safe place if need be.

"Hello," Draco said, trying to sound happy and energetic, and only ended up sounding like he was squealing.

Teddy ran towards Draco and hugged his leg.

"Oh!" Draco almost panicked.

"Come on, Teddy, you're going to break off Draco's circulation," Aunt Andromeda said, chasing after Teddy who ran behind Draco and buried himself in Draco's robes.

"It's alright, Teddy," Potter whispered. "Let Draco sit on the sofa." Teddy didn't move. "You can sit on his lap," Potter added, nearly well unnerving Draco again. "He accidentally broke Andromeda's favourite vase, so he's very nervous," Potter informed Draco who nodded.

Teddy slowly let go of Draco's robes and grabbed his right hand, leading him to the sofa. "Come," he said, and Draco heard Teddy's voice for the first time for himself.

He smiled at Teddy and followed obediently, sitting where Teddy indicated him to and then jumped on his lap. "Hug," Teddy commanded and Draco looked up at Potter and Aunt Andromeda who nodded. Draco opened his arms and Teddy launched himself in Draco's embrace.

"Easy there, Tiger," Draco said, chuckling, and Teddy roared and his hair turned bright yellow. "Ah, now you're looking more handsome!" Teddy grinned and turned to look at Potter.

Draco looked up as well and saw Potter biting his lower lip as he watched them. Draco ended up licking his own lips at the sight of Potter doing something and sighed. He was starting to find Potter attractive. _Blimey_. When did that happen?

Teddy hopped off Draco's lap and ran to grab Potter's hand. Moments later, Potter was sitting next to Draco, their knees bumping and their hands casually brushing together as Teddy was trying to tell a story.

Draco avoided it for the most part. He also avoided looking at Potter as much as he could since Potter looked more uncomfortable than Draco felt.

"Teddy, let's get you ready for dinner," Andromeda said, walking in in the midst of Teddy's story-telling.

"No!" Teddy shouted.

"Teddy, we talked about this," she said firmly.

"I'm starving!" Draco pretended. "Let's get ready so I can eat and you can keep telling your story?"

Teddy turned to look at Potter who nodded in agreement and Teddy hopped off Draco and ran out of the room with Andromeda chasing him.

Draco turned to Potter, aware of the fact that their knees were still touching. "Is he always—?”

"Always." Potter chuckled and casually placed his hand on Draco's knee. Draco didn't flinch, yet he watched Potter's hand that gently squeezed his knee next. "We should head into the dining room; if we're still sitting when Teddy returns—there'll be hell to pay."

Potter stood up and offered his hand to Draco, as if he needed help getting up. Draco considered Potter's hand for a moment then grabbed it, and Potter pulled him up. Their faces gently passed each other, and Draco felt Potter's breath on his lips. Draco couldn't help but shiver with the sensation.

"Are you alright?" Potter asked, still holding Draco's hand.

"I'm fine, Potter," Draco answered resolutely.

They heard footsteps approaching and Potter quickly let go of Draco. Draco, surprisingly missed the touch instantly. His gaze followed Potter's hand that he placed in his pocket next, and Draco immediately noticed a bulge in Potter's trousers.

Draco cleared his throat and looked away. When Teddy approached, he picked him up and walked towards the dining room. Thankfully, Teddy had taken over the conversation once again leaving no time for Draco to ponder over what had happened between him and Potter.

The dining table was small, and it was obvious that Andromeda usually didn't entertain many guests. They sat at the tiny roundtable where Teddy insisted on Draco to sit across from him. Draco and Potter's knees kept bumping and after the tenth time, he'd stopped apologising.

"Are you going to be at the Ministry tomorrow?" Andromeda asked as soon as they had dug into the turkey loaf, and Draco nodded. "Good, so you'll be able to show Teddy around too, then?"

"I'll be with Teddy the entire time," Potter interjected.

"But I want to see Draco too!" Teddy roared.

"Yes, of course," Draco answered. "I'm there every day. We'll see each other tomorrow, and if it's not enough, you're always welcome to come back!" Draco winked at Teddy who giggled in return and Potter simultaneously dropped his knife on the floor.

"Oh, sorry!" Potter abruptly stood up from his chair and his napkin also fell to the ground. Draco couldn't help but glance at Potter's bulge again. It was still quite prominent. He turned his attention to his meal, feeling his face turning red. With the way Potter was fumbling about—if Draco didn't know any better—one would think Potter was smitten.

Either that or just really horny all the time.

Draco decided to test his theory. The next time Andromeda stood up from the table to get more wine, Draco placed a hand on Potter's knee. "Potter, is everything alright?" he asked, nearly whispering his words.

Potter shot one look at Draco's hand on his knee, then his eyes widened. He gulped before answering. "Yes. Just you know—" Draco grinned at him and Potter gulped again. Draco couldn't believe it. Harry _Potter_ had a bit of a crush on Draco.

 _Well, at least he has taste_ , Draco thought and chuckled to himself.

"What's so funny?" Potter asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Nothing, just—you know." Draco smiled again and removed his hand from Potter's knee and returned to his meal.

Draco thought about it for a moment. It wasn't so bad, really. He seemed to get along with Teddy just fine and Potter wasn't nearly as bad to look at after all. If he really did find Potter attractive, and if Potter in fact was smitten with Draco, he _could_ give it a try. Of course it was all speculation until Potter did anything about it.

There was no way in hell Draco was going to make the first move. Not after what had happened the first time. Granted they were eleven years old.

After a large helping of dessert and seeing Teddy off to bed, Draco thanked Andromeda and Potter for having him over. Potter insisted on seeing Draco to the door, even though he could have easily Disapparated or taken the Floo. Muggle traditions, apparently, given that Potter was brought up by Muggles and Aunt Andromeda had married one.

"I'm looking forward to tomorrow," Potter said, shortly after he'd opened the door.

Draco smiled and they stood silently in the hallway for a few moments. Draco wasn't sure if he was supposed to say something and Potter looked as though he was in agony of trying to come up with something clever to say. Feeling as though it were an end to a really awkward date, Draco placed his hand on Potter's shoulder and squeezed it gently. "See you then, Potter," he said and Disapparated.

\--

By the time Draco arrived at the Ministry the next day, he could have sworn he had walked into an initiation of Hogwarts Primary School. There were children _everywhere_. Tiny humans in dress robes running around in a frenzy and their parents running after them. One such turbulent child was Teddy Lupin, and an agitated Harry Potter was chasing after him.

"Draco!" Teddy screamed at the top of his lungs once he'd taken a moment to breathe.

"Hi, Teddy, having a good time?" Draco asked and picked Teddy up in his arms as he hadn't stopped jumping for Draco to do so. "I see you're giving Potter a run for his money." Draco grinned at Potter who seemed relieved to see him. "Where's Aunt Andromeda?"

"Oh, she's taking a breather and is in the break room with some tea," Potter answered.

"Smart woman, I see," Draco answered and smiled at Teddy who looked bored. "whose idea was it to have a _Bring A Child To Work Day_?"

Potter sighed. "I don't even know—we had meetings upon meetings about things and people said stuff—"

"Sounds fascinating, Potter," Draco teased.

"Trust me, Malfoy. You're lucky you get to miss out—"

"Yeah, I'm lucky no one wants me around—"

"That's not what I—"

"It's alright, Potter." Draco wasn't upset. He knew that Potter had nothing to do with Draco's working conditions. Blimey, one day with Teddy and Draco had stopped finding reasons to blame Potter. He scowled at Teddy teasingly and pinched his nose. "Does your godfather always worry about everything?" Draco asked Teddy who nodded thoughtfully.

"Draco, I wanna see where you work!" Teddy demanded.

"Okay then, let's go!" Draco smiled and turned towards the lifts. "Coming, Potter?" he asked and Potter's grin was wider than Teddy's.

The lift was more crowded than usual and Teddy insisted on Draco carrying him the entire time. Potter and Draco continued to bump into each other and Draco reckoned that bumping into Potter consistently just came with the package. They stopped apologising for invading each other's space.

Draco carried Teddy on his right and Potter stood on his left. Every turn or a sudden stop the lift would make, Draco's hands would brush past Potter's. After a while, it felt as though they were holding hands. Moments later, Draco was sure they were.

Potter's grip on Draco's hand was light and he gently rubbed his thumb over the back of Draco's hand. Draco didn't make any sudden movements and concentrated on keeping his breathing even. He looked at Teddy and continued to play with and make faces at him, even though he was _sure_ Potter was staring at him—waiting for a reaction.

The lift started to empty out and Kingsley Shacklebolt, the Minister of Magic walked in. Potter immediately let go of Draco's hand.

 _Right_. Draco almost scoffed when Teddy gave him an odd look. Thankfully, Shacklebolt's interest in little Teddy saved Draco providing clarification.

"Draco, your office is _far_!" Teddy whined and Draco couldn't help but laugh.

"Yeah, it is. But it's a lot of fun!"

"We're working on getting Draco a better office," Shacklebolt said.

"We are?" Draco was surprised.

"We are," Potter confirmed.

"Cool!" Teddy declared.

As soon as they arrived at the Archive Level, Draco, Teddy and Potter exited the lifts and Shacklebolt told Draco to stop by and see him when he was free. Draco nodded and put Teddy down who immediately started to run around through the aisles.

Draco nearly panicked and was just about to chase after him when Potter pulled on Draco's arm, making Draco realise that they were alone. Potter held Draco's hand again and Draco looked down at his hand then looked up at Potter, his eyebrow raised.

"Sorry about..." Potter paused and bit the inside of his cheek. He squeezed Draco's hand again before speaking. "I sort of panicked when I saw the Minister..."

"Erm...I wasn't really sure what was going on so I can't say that I am upset," Draco replied. It wasn't entirely the truth. He _was_ upset. The last thing he wanted was for Potter to string him along.

"I just thought maybe you'd like—"

There was a crash.

Draco stared at Potter wide-eyed and ran towards the noise. Hopefully Teddy was okay, and for Merlin's sake, he hadn't destroyed anything.

\--

Draco and Potter never finished the conversation they'd started on the Archive Level of the Ministry, but what had been established was that Teddy demanded to see Draco more than he'd realised.

Now that Draco had made it known that he wanted to see Teddy as much as he wanted to see Draco, there was no stopping to the dinner invitations and the outings to the local children's parks. Another thing that was also established was that now Draco looked forward to the bumping knees with Potter on the sofa as Teddy sat in their lap, and at dinner, almost always they were holding hands under the table.

Draco wasn't sure what Potter was waiting for. It was abundantly clear that Potter liked him and Draco tried to make sure that his propositions were well received. Potter consistently invited Draco over to his office for lunch, and when Draco was helping Andromeda cook, Potter would put his hand on Draco's lower back and keep it there. He'd even massaged Draco's shoulder once right before dinner when Andromeda had taken Teddy for his bath.

Draco was waiting. He was _tired_ of waiting. He wanted Potter to make the first move, and with every small progress, Draco reciprocated. Every time Potter brushed his hand against Draco's, Draco would hold Potter's hand. Every time Potter squeezed Draco's hand, Draco would squeeze it back. Whenever Potter placed his hand on the small of Draco's back, Draco had leaned into the touch. Yet, things never seemed to move forward.

It had been weeks since the first night Draco had been invited over for dinner, and since then, he'd been invited over numerous times. Things were looking up at work; Shacklebolt wanted Draco to be in charge of hiring someone to replace him on the Archive Level as a Record Keeper so he could be Head of the Department of International Archives. Finally, everything was slowly falling into place. He'd earned respect at his job and was moving up, and he was feeling like a part of the family with Andromeda and Teddy. If only Potter would get it together.

The night after Teddy's birthday party, where even Granger and Weasley seemed to be more than cordial with him, Draco decided enough was enough. He offered to stay later and help clean up. As usual, he accompanied Potter in putting Teddy to bed and returned to the sitting room for a nightcap.

"Glad you could come by," Potter said, the same thing he'd said every night Draco visited Teddy and stayed for dinner. He smiled at Draco and filled his glass and took a swig.

Draco plopped himself next to him. Closer than deemed necessary, but he was ready for things to change. For better or worse. Hopefully better.

With his heart beating a thousand times per second, Draco grabbed Potter's hand and pulled it towards him. "Potter?" he whispered.

"Hmm?" Potter took another swig of his drink. Draco could tell he was nervous.

"What are you doing?" Draco asked, squeezing Potter's hand.

"Having a drink?" Potter said, unsure if he was asking or telling.

Draco pulled Potter's hand up to his lips and gently brushed his lips against the fingers. "And what am I doing?"

Potter released a low sigh. "Erm..." Draco kissed Potter's hand and raised it higher and kissed his wrist. "Malfoy..." Potter whispered.

"Do you want me to stop?" Draco looked up, his face inches away from Potter's lips.

Potter slightly shook his head, his lower lip almost trembling. Draco leaned in, edging himself closer to Potter's mouth, waiting for Potter to meet him halfway.

"Maybe we should—"

Draco groaned with frustration and pulled back. He let go of Potter's hand and stood up from the sofa. "For Merlin's sake, Potter!"

"What?" Potter asked, as though he had no clue why Draco was annoyed.

"Nothing," Draco snapped. "I should go." It was a mistake. Draco acted too rashly, gave into his desire—his want of Potter. He should have just never allowed himself to have the hope.

"No, please. Draco..."

Draco turned to look at Potter who had closed the distance between them. Their faces inches apart, again. " _What_?"

"I don't want you to go," Potter said, so simply.

Draco growled. He hated that his heart melted at those words. "Potter—"

Then Potter kissed him. _Finally_. He leaned in and pushed his lips on Draco's without reservation. It wasn't like the way things usually were between them. Potter didn't just make a small gesture and wait for Draco to respond. He leaned in, pushed on his lips _hard_ , shoved his tongue _in_ and tugged on Draco's hair. In an instant all courtesy and decorum had collapsed and Draco _felt_ Potter's erection on his thigh and he leaned into Potter, sucking on his tongue, kissing him back.

"Fuck..." Draco whispered.

"Want you..." Potter said at the same time.

"What?" Draco looked up from his gaze that was on Potter's slightly bruised lips.

"I was afraid of this."

"Afraid of what?" Draco raised an eyebrow.

"Liking it. Kissing. _You_. More than I probably should."

"Is that why you were acting like a nervous Hogwarts teenager these past few weeks?"

Potter laughed against Draco's lips and leaned in to kiss him again. His small moans were causing Draco's cock to twitch. "Was it that obvious?"

"Just a bit," Draco teased. "I was ready to give you a lecture on how we're not teenagers anymore..."

"Yeah?" Blimey, Potter's tone was flirty.

"Yeah. We should do _adult_ things."

"Like, dinner?" Potter asked, his hands under Draco's shirt now, caressing his lower back again.

Draco leaned into the touch. "Potter, we have dinner all the _fucking_ time."

"So, breakfast?" Potter said and Draco scowled. "I mean, spend the night, and I'll make you breakfast." Potter nuzzled into Draco's neck, pulling him in tight. "Shite, I promised Teddy I'll take him to breakfast with his friends—"

"Potter, I don't _actually_ need breakfast."

"Cheap date."

Draco erupted into laughter again and tugged on Potter's locks and pulled him in for a kiss. Potter slid his hand in-between them and started to stroke Draco's erection.

"Potter, your _godson_ is sleeping upstairs."

"Right." Potter cleared his throat. "Do I have your permission to take you to my place?"

"About bloody time," Draco answered.

\--

"What do you want?" Potter asked Draco as soon as they had managed to get to his bedroom.

"You talk too much," Draco said, kissing Potter's neck as he turned him around and slid his hand down Potter's trousers. "What do _you_ want?"

Potter hummed, pushing back on Draco's cock, grinding ever so gently, almost as though he were teasing him purposefully. "Gods, it's been so long, I might just come like this," Potter said, panting, his breath hitched with each stroke.

"Good, then I get to have you my way." Draco breathed heavily into Potter's ear and Potter's body shuddered under him. He struggled to remove his trousers as Draco continued stroking him hard. Potter was bent down on his bed, and Draco nudged his legs apart. He leaned over Potter, thrusting into him with his trousers on still as he tugged Potter's cock firmly. Draco was sure that if he continued he'd come in his clothes and he wanted to be able to enjoy Potter better.

"Turn," he said and nearly pushed Potter on his back on the bed. He pulled Potter's trousers and shorts off completely and Potter removed his shirt. Draco slanted forward, balancing himself on his knees as he licked the head of Potter's cock and then covered it with his mouth. He sucked on it slowly and pulled back, leaving Potter's cock wetter than before.

Draco had half a mind to remove his clothes and slide himself onto Potter's cock, but with the way Potter was writhing under him, he could tell that he was close. He swirled his tongue around Potter's cock again and began to suck it with more fervour. Draco was right, it wasn't long until Potter was spilling in his mouth, his hands locked on Draco's hair, as he arched up, moaning out the last of his orgasm.

\--

Just a short time had passed by before Draco had started spending all of his free time with Potter. Lunch in Potter's office consisted of Privacy Charms and either Potter or Draco bent over on the table.

After dinner with Teddy, they'd barely say goodbye before Apparating to Potter's flat and most of the times, they didn't even make it to his bedroom. Draco knew that Potter's friends were starting to complain that they barely saw him anymore, and Draco was beginning to wonder if some distance would have been good. If Potter wanted distance, he would have told Draco so, but he hadn't. So Draco never brought up the issue.

Six months had gone by and Draco had all but started living at Potter's place. They still tried to keep things somewhat secretive at work, but he wasn't sure how successful that really was, and frankly he didn't care. It seemed Potter didn't care either.

Things took an ugly turn when one evening, Potter and Draco were supposed to stop by Teddy's Primary School for a Halloween play. Things had been hectic at work for Potter, he'd been going on undercover Auror jobs a lot, and Draco had to deal with organising an event for the Ministry and their International Affairs department. The one night they had free was the night of the Halloween party.

Draco thought that they could easily kill two birds with one stone by spending most of the late afternoon in bed and just popping over to the Teddy's school just a half hour late. Potter agreed and he'd closed the Floo to his flat, and heightened the wards. Just a few hours of alone time.

It had been a while since either of them had had a good few invigorating hours to themselves. Draco had become addicted to Potter's touch and they spent most of their time in the shower, cleaning each other with tongue and soap.

What had meant to be just a few hours alone together, had ended up becoming four. Potter came inside Draco's mouth in the shower, and Draco fucked Potter into the mattress. They took their time rediscovering each other's bodies, as though they hadn't just shagged a few days prior. Draco wondered if Potter would ever grow tired of him, and he feared that he wouldn't know what he'd do, if Potter did.

They arrived at the Primary School and couldn't find Andromeda or Teddy anywhere. In fact, most of the school seemed empty.

"Where is everyone?" Potter asked the security guard that was standing outside the Theatre Department.

"There was an accident, the stage collapsed. A lot of the kids were injured. Your kid's probably at the hospital..."

Before the security guard could say anything else, Potter was running out of the school gates, and Draco followed him. He reckoned that Potter was heading towards the closest Apparition point to get to St Mungo's.

When they arrived at the hospital, along with Andromeda, the entire Weasley family, and Draco's mother were already there.

"Where have you been?" Granger nearly shouted at Potter, who was silent and embarrassed.

"How is he?" Draco asked, hoping that if anyone was going to give them grief, they might as well do it to him.

"He's got a fracture," Granger answered, still glaring at Potter. "He's too fragile for them to fix it by magic, so he's going to be in a cast for a while."

"Otherwise, he's doing alright," Andromeda said, interrupting Granger. Draco supposed she'd picked up on Granger's hostility and chimed in to let them know that Teddy was out of danger.

"That's good. When can we see him?" Draco asked, turned to look at Potter; his expression was blank, and Draco had no idea what Potter was thinking. Did he blame Draco?

"You can go up now, they're only allowing two adults at a time," Andromeda answered.

"Great." Draco turned to look at Potter who nodded and they both left the waiting room and made their way to the Paediatrics Ward.

Potter didn't talk the entire way up to Teddy's room. Draco tried to hold his hand, but he placed them in his pockets, and when Draco put his hand on Potter's shoulder, he didn't even flinch. Draco was already feeling miserable at the fact that Teddy has been hurt, now Potter too was being distant. The guilt swelling up inside Draco's stomach was overbearing and he felt that he was going to hurl at any given notice.

They arrived at Teddy's room and Potter's face lit up after he saw Teddy looking rather unscathed. There were a few bruises on his chin and forehead but otherwise, he was his happy child as always. He looked excited to see them and Draco was relieved for that moment. Even though he knew that he had to end it.

If Potter had been there, maybe Teddy would have been saved. Potter would have gone to rescue Teddy right away, but he was with Draco. Warded in his flat, while they were being selfish. If Draco hadn't been around, Potter would have more time to spend with his friends, who had been complaining consistently that they never got to see him anymore.

Draco had taken up all of Potter's time. He'd botched up all of Potter's priorities. Potter, unlike Draco, was loved and wanted. Draco was being selfish by keeping Potter to himself. If Draco hadn't been there, Teddy, wouldn't have been hurt. Teddy was the priority. Not Draco.

After the visiting hours were over and Andromeda insisted on staying with Teddy for the night, Draco decided to leave the hospital with his mother.

"Draco, aren't you coming over?" Potter asked, right before he was going to take the Floo to the Manor.

"It's been a long day, let's get some rest," Draco answered, in a subdued manner. "We'll talk tomorrow." He smiled and kissed Potter on the cheek before leaving. It broke his heart to look at Potter, who seemed rather disheartened. Eventually he'd understand, Draco was sure. This was for the best.

\--

Breaking up with Potter, was even harder than Draco had originally thought. He felt an icicle being stabbed in his heart every time Potter said the words, "I don't understand."

Thankfully the Malfoy principles instilled in him, helped him to keep the façade of looking unharmed and rather apathetic.

"It's just not working out," he said, to the millionth time Potter had asked "But, why?"

"And Teddy?"

Draco's heart broke into a million pieces again. How was he supposed to answer that? He loved Teddy, just like he loved...

"I will continue to visit him as he sees fit, but I don't think that our dinners would be a good idea. I will stop by over the weekend, and take him to the park."

"And us? What do I tell him about that?"

Draco shrugged. "You'll figure something out." He nodded curtly towards Potter and was out of the door before he could say anything else.

As he got into the lifts, Draco was well on his way to another anxiety attack. He dashed into his office and closed the door as he held back his tears as much as possible. Ultimately, he crashed on the sofa in his office, and cried.

Thankfully, his secretary had cancelled his appointments for the rest of the day.

\--

"Why don't you like Uncle Harry anymore?"

It had been a good three months since Draco and Potter had called it off. Draco avoided Potter's floor like the plague and besides not seeing Potter on a routine basis, he'd missed sneaking into Potter's office to look at his pictures.

Draco had started his own photo collection in his office of his times with Teddy, and in his desk drawer, under piles of papers, he hid a picture of him and Potter. It was from Teddy's birthday party, the first night they had gotten together. Teddy was sitting in Draco's lap and they were both concentrating on the camera as Potter was looking at Draco with the gaze that had made Draco fall in love with him. It looped again right after Draco would turn and see Potter.

"Draco?"

Draco cleared his throat as he took the last bite of his ice cream. It was almost the New Year and Draco liked taking Teddy to the enchanted forest in the wizarding children's park where it was still 30 degrees Centigrade.

"I like your Uncle Harry," Draco managed to say. "We're just very busy, you know. I'm very busy at work and he's got an important job and everything."

Teddy nodded, but didn't look convinced.

"Don't you like it—that he comes over a lot now?" Draco asked. "He's spending more time with you, yeah?"

"Yeah, but I liked it when you both are with me, together."

 _Me too_ , Draco wanted to say. "I know but—" He sighed heavily.

"That's okay, I understand."

"You do?" Draco was surprised.

"No, not really," Teddy said, looking shy. His bright pink hair was turning a very Potter black. "I—is it because you were spending less time with me before, and now that you're not friends anymore...you spend more time with me?"

Draco frowned at Teddy's question. How could someone so small possibly understand what he was thinking? Draco didn't know if _he_ knew what he was thinking. "Something like that."

"Oh," Teddy said, licking his ice cream again.

"What is it?"

"I just..." Teddy hesitated.

"Come on, you can tell me."

"I liked it. When you were happy. Now you see me more but are unhappy."

Draco chuckled to himself. Of course, when a six year old said it, it all just sounded so simple. "You're very smart, you know that?"

"I know," Teddy said, finishing off the last of his ice cream. "I get it from my dad."

"Indeed. Maybe you'll become a Professor, when you grow up." Teddy shook his head. "No?"

"No, I want to be an Auror like my mum, or Uncle Harry. Or a gawrified liberian, like you."

"A _glorified Librarian_?" Draco asked, almost horrified, and Teddy nodded. "Where did you hear that?"

"Uncle Ron."

"Of course."

\--

Easter was just around the corner, when Andromeda owled an invitation for Easter Brunch to Draco and his mother.

Draco had been doing such a great job avoiding Potter for almost six months. They had been broken up for almost as much time as they had been dating. Surely, it would no longer be awkward to go to the same event as Potter, Draco thought.

He couldn't help but wonder if Potter was dating anyone new. Or if that bloke was going to be there for Easter. He knew that Weasley and Granger were also invited, and perhaps, he could discuss his _glorified_ job over the course of the meal.

When Draco and his mother arrived at Aunt Andromeda's place, Teddy, as always was the first to greet them. When they entered the main room, Draco saw Granger, Weasley, and their newly born daughter, along with Molly and Arthur Weasley, and _Potter_. Without a date. At least that was a relief.

Everyone gathered around the kitchen table that they had managed to Transfigure to seat nine people, and somehow Draco was placed next to Potter. _Again_.

Their knees bumped, and this time, it was Draco consistently apologising for it, while Potter didn't seem to flinch. Eventually, he shifted his chair a bit to the left, away from Draco, and the problem seemed to have been resolved.

Draco scowled at the act. Even though he had no right to. Potter probably still hated him.

"How is work, Draco?" Granger asked, possibly to ease the tension around the table.

"It's going well," Draco answered, smiling. "I am attending a conference next week in Paris, it's for the International Council on Archives. You know, the usual, glorified Librarians getting together."

Weasley nearly choked on his coffee, and cleared his throat. "I—"

"Don't worry about it, Weasley," Draco said, jumping in before Weasley made some sort of a pathetic excuse. "Just be careful of what you say when inquiring ears are around." Draco looked at Teddy and smiled, who grinned back.

"It's good that you get to spend so much time with Teddy still, Draco," Andromeda said, chiming in when the silence on the table was becoming daunting.

"Yeah, it's a lot of fun," Draco answered, and Teddy nodded.

"Are you seeing someone new?"

This time, it was Potter that was choking on his coffee.

"Er...no. Not really," Draco answered.

"Not really?" Narcissa asked. "I didn't know there was a possibility."

"Mother..."

"Excuse me," Potter said, as he pushed his seat back and abruptly stood up from the table. Everyone turned to look at him and he simply flustered and rushed off.

Andromeda and Draco's mother exchanged looks and suddenly, Draco had very little desire to stay. "I—uh—maybe I should go check on him?"

Weasley spoke next, "I'm not sure if—" Granger kicked him under the table. "Bloody hell!"

"You should go, and make sure he's alright," Granger said, insistently.

Draco continued to sit for a moment, contemplating. It was awkward to remain there, but if he went to Potter, what would he say? "Right," he said, finally, and stood up. "I'll just go fetch him, then."

When he finally made his way out of the kitchen and the dining area, Draco found Potter on the porch. He was looking over the lake that surrounded the Tonks family home.

"Potter?" Draco whispered, hoping not to startle him. Potter turned to look at him, his eyes glistening, and Draco was sure that he was fighting back tears. "If this is a bad time—"

"No. Draco." Potter cleared his throat. "Malfoy, it's fine." He struggled to smile at Draco and it all but tore Draco apart again. It has been six months, how could Potter feel the same way? How could Draco?

"I just wanted to make sure you were alright. I mean—I don't know—I just couldn't sit there without you. You know?" Draco laughed nervously, he was rambling, and he had no idea why. He knew why, actually. He was madly in love with Potter and all he wanted to do was reach over to him and pull him in for a hug or a kiss. He _missed_ Potter.

"Yeah, I didn't think it would be this difficult."

"What?"

"Seeing you again. Then, talking about you dating someone else—"

"I'm not dating _anyone_. I don't know why I said 'not really', there's no one." Draco stepped out to the porch all the way and closed the glass door behind him. He didn't want the rest of the household to listen to his conversation with Potter. Granted, they could easily cast a spell and hear them, but he was sure Granger wouldn't allow them.

"That's good to know." Potter smiled and ran his hand through his hair. "I'm not, either. In case you were wondering." He shrugged.

"Well, that's good," Draco said. "Otherwise, it would be kind of pointless to why we broke up. I mean—" _Shite_.

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing. I don't mean anything."

"It's not like I didn't try," Potter said, sighing. "Dating someone, you know. Forgetting you." _Thanks_ , Draco thought. "But, I'd see you at work. You'd walk by—"

"And what?"

Potter sighed again. He chuckled a bit. "It's a silly old song."

Draco didn't understand. "What is?"

" _You walk by, and I fall to pieces_."

Draco bit his lip and nodded. "Yeah, I know exactly what you mean."

"Why did we— Draco?"

Draco shrugged. "I don't know, it seemed like a good idea at the time. Teddy's accident. Your friends."

Potter looked at him confused. "I don't follow."

"If you didn't spend all your time with me—I mean you have friends and _family_. And everyone complained that you never saw them. Then Teddy was hurt and you weren't there—"

"Draco, Teddy would have been hurt if we _were_ there. That wasn't anything we could have controlled."

"I know. I mean, I think I know that. Just the way you were acting that day, at the hospital."

"I was in shock. You were too. Teddy was hurt—and I was running the scenarios in my head, probably just like you were. But my conclusion wasn't for us to _break up_! Honestly!"

Draco didn't say anything. He didn't know what to say. Potter just didn't understand. Draco—just wasn't worth it.

"And what about my friends?" Potter asked.

"I saw the way Granger looked at us that day. She'd always been complaining about how they never saw you ever since we were—"

"Draco!" Potter nearly shrieked in disbelief, and then started laughing. Draco scowled. "I'm sorry," he said, raising his hands. "You weren't there when Hermione and Ron had started dating. They were always all over each other. They would stay locked up in her flat for _days_ and I even accidentally once—" Draco frowned, trying not to imagine what Potter was saying. "That's why I had heightened the wards at my place when you were over. I didn't want them to—" He laughed again.

"It's what people do when they're in a relationship first," Potter said. "They spend a lot of time together. Shagging, mostly. Then finally they come out of the woodwork. You know, when the honeymoon period is over."

"It didn't feel like it was ever going to be over," Draco said.

"And that's a good thing!" Potter said, shaking his head. "I _loved_ you, Draco. Even if you still called me Potter."

"I don't think I could ever not call you 'Potter'."

"Yeah..." Potter drawled, as if he was waiting for something else.

"And I..." Draco hesitated for a moment. "I loved you, too." Then Potter grinned, and Draco realised how much he'd _missed_ that smile. He licked his lower lip and smiled with Potter. "I—uh—still love you," he said. Might as well get all the cards out on the table. Merlin, he was in love with a Gryffindor.

Potter took one step closer towards Draco and held his hand. "I—uh—still love you too."

Before Draco had a chance to reply, Potter kissed him. And thankfully so, because Draco had no idea what he would have said. With each passing second, Potter intensified the kiss between them, pulling in Draco closer, his hand grabbing onto Draco's hair and his body leaning into Draco's. Draco had almost stopped breathing for a minute. How did he ever think he could live without this? Live without Potter's perfect mouth that fit so well with Draco's; his strong arms that tightened just so perfectly around Draco's body.

"Potter..." Draco whispered as Potter broke the kiss and pulled just inches apart from Draco's lips. He could feel a smile curling up as Potter slid his hand under Draco's shirt.

"And Draco?" Potter said; Draco opened his eyes to look at him. "Please don't try to be a Gryffindor again in the future. It doesn't suit you."

Draco let out a soft chuckle. "So how will you have me, then?" he asked.

"Preferably naked in my bed, in about ten minutes." Potter smiled; grabbing Draco's hand he led them back into the kitchen.

After a very lengthy promise to Teddy to take him to the park, together, Draco and Potter, headed off to Potter's flat. It took more than ten minutes to arrive, nevertheless, Draco was, in fact, naked and in Potter's bed with Potter on top of him.

Potter was still very annoying, but not as annoying as once Draco had made him out to be. He would have had to get used to it anyway, especially since Draco officially shifted in with him a week later.

* * *

The End


End file.
